CUNY Academic Commons

Thanks for your comments, building walls will not only separate families, but it is not a profitable venture Americans should encourage.The amount involved could help refugees to settle down. These refugees will later become taxpayers contributing towards the development of this great nation. The walls can never prevent immigrants from coming…[Read more]

Thank you Bernice. I like that so many of your solutions involve getting more evidence re: the wall proposal. It’s a reminder to us all of the value of having concrete data BEFORE jumping head first into “Do this!” or “We need to do that.”

Once you’ve collected some of this data, I’d be curious to see what you believe an appropriate solution is,…[Read more]

Dear Afsana, I love your hook here. You visualize what can often feel like a far away problem. I also appreciate your specific solution– social media. While readers might scoff and say social media can’t change anything, you present evidence that shows otherwise. If our readers/followers are Presidents and other world leaders, then yes, maybe our…[Read more]

Thanks Edgar for proposing two possible solutions– I’m not sure a peace treaty hasn’t been utilized before with Pakistan and India. Any ideas how you would respond to a reader who says that solution is ineffective?

Dear Nikolai,

Thank you for calling our attention to a problem that disguises itself as a solution. You make a great case for why conflicts within UN meetings would result in proxy wars such as the one on Ukrainian soil. You also make a great case for reform of the UN and implementation of NAM. I’d be curious to see your evaluation of what other…[Read more]

Foode, thank you for sharing your concerns re: the Ukraine/Russia border conflict. It’s interesting that you appeal to our sense of family towards the end. The displacement of women and children is troubling and does make readers want to do something to help. I wonder if there’s a programmatic solution you can create that would assist these women…[Read more]

Dear Olivia,

Thanks for teaching us about the tact we need to use in dealing with the North Korea/South Korea tension. Your proposal for nuclear suspensions is a great one. Is this currently already in progress? Do we have a history of proposing these suspensions and it working? Might a skeptic say these suspensions never work? If so, how could…[Read more]

Thanks Deirdre for sharing your solution to an ongoing problem. You might consider doing more research on the benefits of refugee camps vs. full migration. Perhaps an article that shows ways refugees’ lives have changed because of services provided by a camp?

DW

Thanks for sharing the framework to your path to citizenship solution. I’m curious to hear more on how a path to citizenship would benefit our economy. You might also consider appealing to your skeptic who immediately believes this solution would lead to an increase in crime and/or a loss of jobs for Americans.

Dear Fiord, Do this photo project!! IT’s such a fascinating idea and a unique way to get us active. You’re right. What if we saw these border nations side by side? What if citizens within Ukraine and Russia saw portraits side by side? Would the realization that we’re all similar spark a change? I’m fascinated to hear more about the usefulness of…[Read more]

Dear Yelena,

Thanks for sharing your proposal of the benefits of building a wall. It’s interesting that you note the wall as a way to prevent drugs from entering our country. If you pursue this for your literature review, you’d want to look at what the research says about drug trafficking and the Mexican/US border wall. You might also look to…[Read more]

Dear Toure, thank you for urging us all to reexamine our understanding of immigrants and refugees. I’m curious to hear more on how refugees can be provided a better life if they are allowed to enter our country. What aspects of their lives would improve? How would we ensure their lives are improved? What of the skeptic who says their lives will…[Read more]

Dear Katherine,

Thanks for proposing an actual program we can all get behind. Do you see how thinking about particular problems can assist in crafting solutions that are specific and don’t involve big ideas but concrete programs we can implement on the ground? In fact, violence prevention programs are so effective in the States because of the…[Read more]

Dear Salima,

Thanks so much for shedding light on ways we can ACT on the refugee crisis. The connection you make to World War 2 is a stunning one and one I’m sure motivates all of us to act. One really great thing you do here is immediately start your conversation by appealing to your skeptic– the one who believes we need to keep Syrian refugees…[Read more]

Dear Isamar,

Thanks for teaching us about the importance of training. What was particularly impressive here is the way you link lack of training to civilian casualties. I would love to read more about what the research says on this. (Maybe this is a way to build a body paragraph for your literature review that focuses on a particular dilemma your…[Read more]